Main description:

This open access book applies insights from the network perspective in health research to explain the reproduction of health inequalities. It discusses the extant literature in this field that strongly correlates differences in social status with health behaviours and outcomes, and add to this literature by providing a coherent theoretical explanation for the causes of these health inequalities. It also shows that much research is needed on the precise factors and the social and socio-psychological mechanisms that are at play in creating and cementing social inequalities in health behaviours. While social support and social relations have received considerable attention within social and behavioural science research on health inequalities, this book considers the whole network of interpersonal relations, structures and influence mechanisms. This is the perspective of the social network analytical approach which has recently gained much attention in health research. The chapters of this book cover state-of-the-art research, open research questions, and perspectives for future research. The book provides network analyses on health inequalities from the perspective of sociology, psychology, and public health and is of interest to a wide range of scholars, students and practitioners trying to understand how health inequalities are reproduced across generations.

Contents:

- Social Networks and Health Inequalities: A New Perspective for Research. - Social Relations, Social Capital, and Social Networks: A Conceptual Classification. - Social Network Theories: An Overview. - Social Network Mechanisms. - Negative Ties and Inequalities in Health. - Network Analysis and Health Inequalities: A Methodological Introduction. - Social Networks, Family Social Capital, and Child Health. - Social Networks, Health, and Health Inequalities in Youth. - Social Networks and Health Inequalities in Young and Middle Adulthood. - Social Networks and Health Inequalities in Old Age. - Social Status, Social Relations, and Health. - Unemployment, Social Networks, and Health Inequalities. - Social Networks and the Health of Single Parents. - Gender and Health Inequalities: Social Networks in the Context of Health and Health Behavior. - Social Networks and Disability: Access to and Stabilization of Integration into the Primary Labor Market. - Migration as a Health Inequality Dimension? Natio-Ethno-Cultural Affiliation, Health, and Social Networks. - Desiderata: Social Networks and Health Inequalities: Which Questions Remain Open?.